


Heaven of Hell

by AgentDamnvers91



Category: Wynonna Earp (TV)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2020-11-09 09:48:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,380
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20851451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentDamnvers91/pseuds/AgentDamnvers91
Summary: Waverly is in the garden terrified and alone, or so she believes. Nicole and Wynonna are in their own personal hell. Can they work together so all of them can be free?





	1. Chapter 1

So Bright

That’s the only thought filling Waverly’s head as the blurry world around her starts to come more in to focus. Her head is spinning and she almost feels like she’s floating as she tries to figure out what is happening to her. She squints as the light hurts her eyes, its almost completely blinding but eerily beautiful at the same time. She tries to shout but no words come out, her throat dry and sore as if someone had turned sandpaper into powder and shoved it down her throat. 

Waverly presses her hands down, realising that she isn’t floating but she is in fact lying down on what appears to be leaves. Suddenly it’s like all her senses return at once, the light fades into a sort of grey mist and the smell of wet woodlands fills her nostrils. She pushes herself up till she’s sitting and for a moment she wonders if it was all a dream, that she’s just lying in a part of the woods in the triangle that she’s never seen before. She decides to test her voice again.

“Wynonna?” she manages to croak out, her voice raspy and filled with dread. She gulps more air into her lungs as she hears her words echo back to her in the empty forest. “WYNONNA?” 

It comes out as a scream the second time around and Waverly can feel the panic rising in her chest. 

“WYNONNA? NICOLE? SOMEBODY? ANYBODY?” 

She takes a step forward and winces as pain shoots through her feet. Looking down she notices she’s barefoot and her feet are cracked and bleeding, as if she’d been wandering aimlessly for days. The clothes she was wearing when she got dragged through the gates are gone, replaced by a long flowing white dress. 

The sound of leaves crunching behind her makes her swing around in fear, ready to kick some ass if she has to. She is completely unprepared for the site before her. 

“Nicole?” Tears fill Waverly’s eyes as she takes a step towards the woman she loves.

“Follow the path Waverly. It’s the only way to reach your destiny.” Nicole’s voice is soft and warm and as much as she loves it, it breaks Waverly’s heart. 

Waverly reaches a hand out to touch her face and as her fingers make contact, she knows immediately that this is not her Nicole.

“Who are you?” She takes a tentative step back.

“Waves? Baby what are you talking about. It’s me.” Waverly can’t stop the tears from falling down her face as she shakes her head, taking another step away only to stop suddenly when her back collides heavily with a solid obstacle.  
“Waverly.” Wynonna’s voice fills her ears as she turns around to come face to face with her sister. “Waverly it’s alright.” 

“No this isn’t real, you’re not real.” The fake Wynonna clearly is not even going to try and play the game like fake Nicole did as the smile drops off her face. The creature grabs her wrist and tries to pull her away with her.

“You have to come with us. Your destiny awaits. You belong here with us.” 

Waverly tries hard to pull her hand free but whatever this creature is, it has an incredibly strong grip. 

“Let go of me! No!” 

The harder she tries to pull away, the weaker it makes her feel, almost as if her energy is being drained. Fake Nicole pushes up against her back and suddenly she sees more of them approaching. Everyone she has ever known is surrounding her, desperately trying to drag her away with them. 

“Follow the path, walk the path.” The creatures chant over and over again as they surround her. 

Waverly closes her eyes tightly, like a child concentrating hard on a game of hide and seek. She wants to fight, wants to believe she is strong enough to escape whatever the hell this is but her body is tired and so she lets go, lets them lift her off the ground.

As they start to walk away a huge explosion nearby causes the creatures to let out an almighty shriek as they drop Waverly to the ground with a thud. They disappear in a mist almost as quickly as they had appeared.

Lying face first on the ground, Waverly manages to turn herself on to her back. She tries hard to steady her erratic breathing and racing heart before she sits up again.

“Breathe Waverly, you can do this. Wynonna will come for you.” She tries desperately to reassure herself. “Nicole will never leave you here and she still needs to answer your question so you need to goddamn suck it up and get your shit together!” 

She pushes herself up off the floor and looks ahead towards the path the creatures were so desperate she follow.

“This is some messed up Wizard of Oz bullshit.” 

"Is that the very strange movie with the metal man that miss Haught chose for movie night once?" 

Waverly knew that voice, she turned around and came face to face with the one and only Doc Holliday.

"You're not real." The Doc that stood in front of her looked identical to the one she knew except like her he was dressed all in white and covered in cuts and bruises.

"My dear Waverly I can assure you I am as real as Wynonna's love of whiskey." 

"Why should I believe you. Doc Holliday isn't even mortal anymore, how would he have gotten up those stairs." Doc shrugged his shoulders. 

"I do not know how or why I was allowed to pass through that barrier but I made a silent promise to your sister that I would protect you and so it is my honour and duty to fulfil that promise." Waverly considered his words before shaking her head. 

"You're not real." Waverly began to pace the forest floor. "You are NOT real." Doc walked over to her and gripped her by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks. 

"Your name is Waverly Earp, sister to Wynonna, girlfriend to Sheriff Nicole Haught." Waverly stared at him, a shocked expression on her face. It was like she was frozen in place. "Your birthday is September 8th and you were once voted the nicest person in Purgatory sash and all." 

"That doesn't prove anything." She found herself crying again despite herself. "Tell me something only Doc would know." The older man stood silent for a moment, thinking of what he could say to convince her that he was very much real and there with her.

"Dainty and delicate in blue, the first words I ever said to my daughter when you handed her to me." His gaze dropped to the floor almost as if he was afraid to meet her eye. "I pray every day that she is happy and hope that she would not be ashamed of her father...and what a coward he is." 

The emotion in his words filled Waverly with immense relief. 

"Doc!" she exclaimed with pure happiness as she threw herself into his arms. He held her close and tight. 

"I am here Waverly, we will figure this out. You are not alone."

They embraced each other for what felt like forever before Waverly pulled back. A chill went down her spine as the sky started to dim and the world began to darken. 

"We can't stay here. We have to go!" 

"Go where?" She had no idea what it led to but the choice to her was obvious. It was calling out to her. She pointed through the clearing in the trees.

"Down the path."

Ripping the sleeves off her dress, she tied the rags around her feet and made her way into the trees with Doc close behind her. As they walked the landscape began to change. The trees turned to dust and the sky turned an almost golden yellow. 

"Doc, I don't think we're in Purgatory anymore."


	2. Chapter 2

The rain fell hard as Wynonna downed another shot of whiskey, the liquor burning her throat as it made its way down. She pinched the bridge of her nose, tiredness flowing through every inch of her body but resting was the last thing on her mind. She didn’t have time nor did she believe that she deserved to rest, not when two of the most important people in her life were still missing. Lost to the garden because she couldn’t save her and she couldn’t stop him. 

“Self pity’s not a good look on you Earp.” 

She turned to her new partner in crime and gave him a smirk. 

“Nedley what have I said about you checking me out.” The former sheriff chose to ignore her and instead pulled a usb drive out of his back pocket

“Haught sent me with this.” Wynonna laughed as she poured herself another one.

“Sheriff Haught to trot still hates my guts I see.” She downed the shot. “Can’t say I blame her.” 

It had been six months since Waverly and Doc had disappeared into the garden. Six months since Wynonna and Nedley had begun their search for the other residents of Purgatory. It took them five months but they had eventually managed to find them all in some abandoned underground bunker on the far north-east edge of the triangle with no idea how or why they were there. Wynonna had never been more relieved to see the townsfolk who had pretty much tortured her for most of her life. The one reunion she had both been looking forward to and dreading was with Nicole. When they had found Jeremy and Robin they hadn’t been in the best shape but in true Nicole fashion, she definitely had gotten the worst of whatever was being done to them. She had been unconscious when they found her and between the two of them Wynonna and Nedley managed to carry her to the car and eventually get her back to the Homestead. Wynonna had known that Nicole would be angry and upset but she wasn’t prepared for any of what happened when she had woken up. 

One month Earlier

Nicole’s head was pounding as her eyes fluttered open. She quickly closed them again as the light hurt her eyes. Wait the light? Where was she? Was it all a dream?

“Haught?” She knew that voice. She slowly opened her eyes to see her former boss stood over her. “Wynonna, she’s awake.” She turned her head to see Wynonna rushing in to the room and dropping to her side. 

“Damn it’s good to see you Nicole.” Wynonna made a noise of protest as Nicole pushed herself up into a sitting position. “Easy there Haught-stuff, Jeremy said you hit your head pretty hard.”

“Jeremy? Is he okay? What about Robin? And the rest of the town and where’s Waverly?”   
“Jeremy and Robin are fine, as are the rest of the town thanks to you. They told us you really protected everyone from whoever it was that took you.” Nedley patted her on the shoulder but something was off, neither of them would look her in the eye. 

“Wynonna, where’s Waverly?” Nedley and Wynonna shared a look before Wynonna turned to face her, she was clearly trying to fight back tears and Nicole’s heart suddenly felt like it was being gripped in a vice and someone was twisting the crank as hard as possible.

“Nicole…” The redhead instantly shook her head as tears automatically began to fill her eyes.

“No Wynonna, please don’t tell me she did it? She did not sacrifice herself for us.” 

“Not in so many words.”

“What the fuck does that even mean?” Nicole snapped as she jumped to her feet. Her face was red in anger and heartbreak. Wynonna stood up with her and put a hand on her shoulder but it was immediately shrugged off. “Tell me what happened.” 

Nicole stood in silence as Wynonna re-told the whole story of how Waverly had been dragged into the garden and Doc had gone in to save her. She told her how Waverly had tried desperately to get off the stairs and how she had killed Bulshar but it was just empty words to Nicole.

“She’s gone.” Nicole whispered to nobody in particular. Even thinking the words made her feel sick. She couldn’t stop the tears from falling down her face.

“We’re gonna get her back, we’re a team and if we all work together we can-” 

Wynonna didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence before she felt her head flying backwards as Nicole’s fist struck against her jaw. The punch was so strong it almost knocked her off her feet and she instantly tasted blood in her mouth. 

“You drugged us! You want us to work together after you fucking took us out? You lost her Wynonna, YOU.” Nicole’s words were being spat at her in anger and grief and Wynonna just let them wash over her like a shower as she herself tried to ignore the sting in her lip. “You just had to do it your way, typical Earp never thinking anything through and screwing everything up as you always do! I will never forgive you for this and I will figure a way to get her back without you.” 

“Nicole - “

“No sir, you do not get to try and help her explain why anything she did was okay.” She turned her attention back to Wynonna. 

“Don’t do this Nicole, we need each other.” 

“I don’t need anything from you anymore Earp… We’re done.” 

Those were the last words Nicole said to her as she stormed out of the homestead and into the night, Nedley following close behind her. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“She’ll come around. She wouldn’t want me telling you this but she’s been living in the woods for the last 3 weeks trying to find those stairs. She doesn’t hate you Wynonna, she’s just angry.”

“Tell her to join the fucking club. I can’t keep doing this Nedley. Can’t keep passing messages back and forth through you and Jeremy. God I hate being the grown-up one. The only way we have a shot in hell of figuring all of this out is by all of us working together.” 

Nedley took a seat next to her at the bar.

“Look i’m not exactly the smartest guy in the world but I know that the last thing Waverly would want would be to see the two of you fighting. You gotta find a way to get through to her.”

Wynonna nodded and ran a hand through her hair before pushing herself up off the stool. 

“Waverly would have kicked our asses by now and probably have us locked in a room together until we figured it all out or some bullshit like that.” Her heart ached as she spoke of Waverly but the thought of her gave her an idea. “I have to go.” She slung on her leather jacket and headed for the door. 

“Hey Nedley?” She turned back to him as she braced her hand on the door. “Thank you.” 

He gave her a nod before grabbing the bottle and pouring himself a drink. Wynonna rushed out into the rain, the wind howling and stinging her face but she didn’t care. She had a plan now and she had work to do.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The path was long and winding and each turn took them to an almost completely new environment as Waverly and Doc walked along it. It was the strangest place that Waverly could have ever dared to imagine but it was weirdly beautiful, even if it did still terrify her. They had been walking for what felt like days, reassuring each other that they would find a way out or that the others would find a way in. When Waverly’s feet could not carry her anymore, Doc had lifted her into his arms despite her protests and they had fallen silent as he walked them both into the unknown. As she lay in Doc’s arms, Waverly couldn’t help but compare it to the feeling of being in Nicole’s arms. Oh how she missed her beautiful officer, if only there was a way for her to tell Nicole that they were alright, that she was still with her and that she loved her more than anything. Yes she had said it with the proposal on the porch, as out of the blue as it might have been for both of them she had meant every single word but lord how she wished she had said it more.

“I have no doubt that she knew that all along.” Waverly turned her face up to look at Doc. She hadn’t realised she’d said those last words aloud. “As you know I have been around for a long time and I have never witnessed a courtship as strong as you and Sheriff Haught. She knows you love her Waverly, heck everyone can see it in your eyes and your actions just how deep your feelings run. It’s a beautiful sight to see the two of you together.”

Waverly found herself tearing up at his words and she gave him a small smile. She hugged herself against his body as a chill filled the air. They were currently surrounded by dark bushes and whispering trees but the sky was once again a bright golden yellow. Suddenly the earth began to move and shake.

Doc placed Waverly on the ground and held on to her tightly, almost trying to shield her from whatever was happening. The shaking only went on for a few more seconds before the trees in front of them cleared and a soft blue light came towards them. As the light got closer, Waverly could see the figure of a person but she could not quite make out who it was. The figure was wearing a long white cloak and the hood was up. 

“Who are you?” Doc called out to the figure who stopped at his words. The cloaked figure held out a hand to them and with the other pulled down the hood. 

Waverly gasped and her hand flew over her mouth at the revelation in front of her. 

“Welcome Waverly, I knew you’d make it.” 

“Willa?”

Willa smiled at her and nodded. The blue light continued to shine around her but there was still a slight darkness in her eyes. 

“Welcome to maebad almalayika.” She walked forward and took her hand. 

“Come sister, we have much to see.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do not speak Arabic but since the ring has Arabic on it I wanted to include some in my fic. Roughly translated according to google, maebad almalayika means temple of angels. 
> 
> I know nothing about season 4 obviously but I wanted to write a different side to Nicole that we haven't seen yet!
> 
> I hope you enjoy it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wynonna and Nicole have a heart to heart. Willa Earp returns, but why is she there? is she really there?

The only light illuminating the forest came from the moon and the flashlight she carried as Wynonna searched for Nicole’s campsite. After mildly threatening Jeremy with Nicole’s spare gun that the sheriff hid in her office, the genius had given her a rough location of where Nicole was now apparently living. 

“Come on Nicole, where the hell are you?” She muttered to herself as she ducked under yet another low hanging branch. God how she hated these woods. She understood that Nicole was angry and desperate to find her sister, so was she but what good would they be to Waverly if they couldn’t be a team.

A slight amber glow in the distance made Wynonna sigh in relief. She walked through a small clearing and what she saw, she had to admit was pretty impressive. Wynonna was expecting a small tent and maybe a portable camping stove or some crap like that but Nicole had built a legit fortress out of logs and branches and leaves, it even had a canopy across the top and a burning fire in the center of it all despite the wet weather. 

“What the hell are you doing here Earp?” Wynonna jumped as Nicole appeared out of basically nowhere on the other side of the fire.

“Look I know you think all of this is my fault but we need to talk.” Nicole laughed and walked around the fire towards her. 

“I have nothing to say to you Wynonna, I told you if you have something to say to me then talk to Jeremy or Nedley.” God this woman was frustrating.

“Jesus Nicole what are we 12 years old? This is ridiculous, I don’t know how many times I can say I’m sorry. No one hates me more than I hate myself Nicole, I can promise you that.” 

“I think I might be able to give you a run for your money there.”

“We both lost her Nicole and the only way we are going to get her back is if we put all of own shit behind us okay. Hell if Waverly was here she’d have hit our heads together long before now.” 

“Yeah well, she was a much better person than either of us.” 

“I can’t do this without you Haught. Like it or not I need you and you need me.” Wynonna turned off her light and put her hands in her pockets. She took another hesitant step towards her and took the lack of movement from Nicole as a good sign. “Also I’m sorry.”

“You said that already.”

“No I meant for this.” Wynonna pulled her hand out of her pocket and grabbed Nicole’s wrist. The other woman was fast but not fast enough as Wynonna secured the handcuff around her wrist before locking the other half on her own and throwing the key away into the darkness

“What the hell Wynonna!” 

“This is the only way I can get you to talk to me.” 

“How did you even get these? What did you do break in to my house?” 

“No!” Nicole raised an eyebrow at her. “Okay fine so maybe I jimmied your window open. Fed that fat lump of lard you call a cat for you by the way. You’re welcome.”

“You’re insane!” Nicole threw her other arm in the air before frantically pulling at her handcuffed wrist. 

“Yeah like i’ve never heard that one before. Look I know you hate me but now you’re stuck with me and we are going to talk about this. For Waverly.” Nicole groaned in frustration before dropping herself to the ground, pulling Wynonna down with her. 

“You really are the worst Wynonna.” 

“Yeah I know.” 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waverly was beyond confused. How was this happening? Her big sister, lost to them not once but twice was now standing in front of her holding her hand. 

“How are you here?” Willa gave her a smile, probably the warmest smile that Waverly had ever seen directed at her from the older girl.

“Wynonna. When she shot me I thought I would end up with the revenants but I didn’t. I woke up here. I wish I could tell you more” 

“Peacemaker turned blue when she shot you.” Willa nodded. “So red sends you to hell and blue sends you...to whatever the hell this place is.” 

“Waverly I do not think we should be listening to her.”

“It’s nice to see you John.” Willa turned her attention to Doc who was staring at her with nothing but hate. 

“I hope you’ll understand why I do not return the sentiment.” 

Waverly just stared at her older sister. Willa was not just being kind, she was being kind to her. It was strange and yet it warmed her heart for a second before the memory of what Willa had done the last time they had been together hit her full force like a train. She let go of her sisters hand and slapped her straight across the face. She didn’t know if Willa could feel pain in this place but it felt good all the same.

“That’s for shooting my girlfriend.” Willa let out a laugh as she pushed her hair out of her face. 

“Okay I guess I deserve that.” Waverly was taken aback by those words. She had no idea if this version of Willa was even real or if she could trust her but it didn’t stop her from pulling her into her arms and holding her tight.

The two sisters stood swaying on the spot simply breathing each other in. Willa pulled away first and stepped away from the embrace. 

“We don’t have much time, follow me.” She gave Waverly one last smile before turning away.

As she turned, the earth once again began to shake and the ground in front of Willa started to separate as a large white temple rose up out of the dirt.

“What in carnation is that?” 

“Like I said, welcome to the Temple of Angels.”

The doors to the temple swung open as if Willa had said some kind of magic password. Once again something happened to Waverly that she could not explain, the temple was calling to her. Willa once again held out her hand and Waverly took it and together the two sisters walked into the temple.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“And the third time I got locked in a box was when I was trying to hide from this creepy dude at a yacht party in Kavos. I honestly do not even remember how I ended up there but this dude could have put some of the revenants to shame he was such an ass-” 

“Oh god Wynonna shut up.” Nicole snapped at her. Wynonna had been trying to force the officer to talk to her for over an hour by telling her stories of her travels while Nicole tried to no avail to go to sleep. They all ended the same way with Wynonna usually passed out somewhere with no pants on and Nicole simply couldn’t hear anymore.

“You want me to stop? All you gotta do is talk to me Haughty.” Nicole hated the fact that Wynonna could affect her like this but she refused to answer her. Wynonna sighed in frustration and laid down on her back. 

The two women lay silently for a few minutes before Wynonna decided to try a different tactic. 

“You know before everything went down with Daddy and Willa, Willa used to braid my hair for me every night before we went to sleep. Waverly would come in and ask Willa to do hers and Willa would always laugh at her and tell her no. I was just a kid and it was just teasing, that's what Willa always said but I should have done something. I should have protected her better. It has always been amazing to me that Waverly doesn’t hate me like the rest of the town does, she’s always had my back no matter what.” 

Nicole stayed silent but listened intently to Wynonna’s words. 

“Coming back to Purgatory is both the best and worst decision I've ever made. I lost my daddy and my sister here but I got Waverly back and we made our own family, but you were right, I screwed it up just like everything else. I understand if you hate me Nicole but we’re family and I’m gonna fight for our family and we’re gonna get her back somehow, her and doc.” 

When Nicole still didn't answer, Wynonna was ready to give up. She reached with her free hand in to her jacket pocket, her fingers grasping the spare key to the cuffs she had lied about not having. 

“I don’t hate you.” The words came out so quietly that Wynonna thought she might have imagined them. “I miss her so much Wynonna.” 

“I know.” 

“I should have been there to help.” 

“I know.” Nicole turned so she was lying awkwardly on her side but looking at Wynonna. 

“I’ve never felt pain like that night, you telling me Waverly was gone, I can’t even begin to explain it. The anger just, I don’t know lit a flame inside of me and Instead of forcing it out I’ve been fueling it because I can’t admit to myself that it’s just as much my fault that she’s gone as it is yours.” 

“What?”

Nicole wiped away a stray tear that she didn’t even realise had fallen. She held out her hand and showed Wynonna the ring.

“Waverly gave this to me ya know. Right before you called us in, before it all went down. We were sat on the porch and she put this ring on my finger. She didn’t actually say the words but we both knew what it meant.” The realisation hit Wynonna hard and she felt her heart break for her friend. 

“Nicole, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” 

“All I’ve been thinking for the last month is maybe if she hadn’t given me this ring, maybe she would have been able to break through that barrier, maybe she would still be here. 

“Nicole I’m sorry but that’s bullshit. Waverly gave you that ring because she loves you. The garden wanted her and I think it would have found a way even if she had the ring. The ring might be Julian’s ring and it might be magic but Waverly pulled the sword out of the tower without it, she didn’t need it to name me the guardian.” 

Nicole played with the ring on her finger as Wynonna’s words went through her head.

“I’m sorry I hit you.” 

“Eh, you got lucky. I could have taken you down if I wanted to.” Nicole laughed, really for what felt like the first time in forever and gently shoved Wynonna with her shoulder. 

“I was gonna say yes you know.” Wynonna nodded, resting their heads together. 

“I know.” Wynonna took the key out of her pocket and unlocked the cuffs. Nicole scoffed and shook her head. 

“You’re an ass.” 

“So I’ve been told.” Wynonna stood up and pulled Nicole to her feet and into a tight hug. 

They didn’t do this very often but as much as they mocked and argued with each other, they were best friends and they shared the greatest bond, their love for Waverly Earp. 

“We’re gonna figure this out Haught, we have to.” 

“Yeah we really do, I don’t think either of us will survive too long without her.”

Pulling out of the hug, Nicole held up a finger to signal for her to wait for a second. She walked to the back of her makeshift camp site and opened up a cooler pulling out two beers. She twisted off the top and took a long swig before handing the other one to Wynonna who gratefully accepted. 

“Okay now that the band is officially back together I have to ask. What the hell is this place?” Nicole shrugged her shoulders.

“Just your basic outdoor wilderness shelter, it was the best I could do without any real supplies. I learnt how to do it in the scouts.” 

Wynonna snorted into her beer.

“Of course you were a girl scout. Should have known.” Nicole shook her head.

“No I was actually the first member of a co-ed scout troop in my hometown. I wanted to join the boy scouts but their troop leader told me I wasn’t strong enough so I showed him the truth, redheads do it better.” 

“Of course you did.” 

Wynonna clinked her beer against Nicole’s before they sat back down around the fire. They drank in silence listening to the snap, crackle and pop of the flames, both of them thinking the same thing. 

Waverly would have loved to see them like this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waverly decides to make her own destiny and the team gets a new ally

Waverly’s mouth hung open in awe as she took in her current surroundings. The ceilings of the temple were the highest she had ever seen and they glistened like diamonds, painted with most beautiful images of people that Waverly could only assume were angels. 

“This temple was built at the beginning of time as a home for the guardians of the garden.” Willa explained but Waverly’s eyes had found one particular portrait. 

It was situated at the back of the temple behind what she could only guess was some kind of altar. It was a painting of two male angels, their hands in prayer and Waverly couldn’t help the tears that came to her eyes as she focused on one in particular.

“Those are the last two guardians of the garden. Juan Carlos and…”

“Julian.” 

“Dad.”

Waverly and Doc both spoke at the same time. 

“Of course.” Willa’s words came out in a whisper. 

Waverly found herself walking towards the altar, her eyes transfixed on her father. 

“If Juan Carlos and Julian have both been slain, what happens to the garden?” Doc found himself asking the question he was sure they were both thinking. 

Julian looked so peaceful in the portrait and as Waverly got closer she pressed her hand against it, knowing this was as close as she would get to her father now. Bobo had made sure of that. 

“I’ve heard whispers in the garden. Once the two true guardians are no longer able to fulfill their duty, the garden must be protected by the heart and soul of an angel.” Willa raised her hand to Waverly as she spoke the last few words. Doc looked confused but Waverly knew instantly what she was trying to stay.

“This is why the garden was calling to me. It wants me to be the next guardian.” Doc shook his head, his face contorted in anger.

“Absolutely not. Waverly Earp belongs in Purgatory with her family, not a slave to a life given to her by a father she has never known.” Willa shrugged.

“The garden has ways of getting what it wants. If Waverly does not want this fate then the garden isn’t going to let her go without a fight.” 

Their voices filled the air as Willa and Doc argued but Waverly couldn’t hear a single word over her own thoughts. The garden wanted her to be its guardian, this was what those creatures had meant by her destiny. Was this part of the sacrifice Kevin had told them about? 

For a moment she let herself imagine what it would be like if she accepted her fate and gave in to the gardens demands. She had been told all her life that she was meant for better things than Purgatory, was this the path she was supposed to follow?

She only had to think about it for a half second to realise it was ridiculous. Her father might have been an angel and she may have his blood but that didn’t mean she wanted his life. Doc was right, she needed her family. She needed her crazy, over-protective, amazing sister and she needed Nicole. 

Oh god Nicole

Waverly’s eyes fluttered shut as her name entered her head. 

She loved her so much and oh how she wished she had told her more. Meeting Nicole, being with her and loving her, it was the greatest gift anyone could have ever given her and she wished she had her that every day, not just some rushed proposal with her dead dad’s magic ring. Even though she meant every single word, Nicole deserved better and damn it she was going to give it to her, one way or another. 

“ENOUGH.” Waverly shouted, her eyes flying open. Doc and Willa fell silent at the outburst. 

“This is my life and I get to decide what I am going to do with it. I don’t care if my father was literally a guardian angel or that I am supposed to be his successor or whatever, my destiny is mine to make and I am going to get out of here and I am going to be with the woman I love and no one is going to stop me. I don’t care what it takes.” She turned to face Julian’s portrait. “I’m sorry I’m not the next guardian but knowing what you did for my mother, I think you’d understand.” 

“The garden won’t like this.” Waverly turned to face her sister. 

“Well the garden can eat shit and I know you’re not going to help us so you’re gonna have to let us go.” Willa stared deadpan back at her, that classic Earp stare in her eyes that Waverly had seen so many times before it broke into a small smile.

“Who said I wasn’t going to help you? I have nothing to lose Waverly, my life is over and my eternity is here whether I like it or not. But like I said, the garden will not like this. There are forces that will be extremely angry if we try to get you out.”

Suddenly a crack of thunder, louder than a dozen gunshots cried out over their heads and the temple around them began to crumble, giving way to a heavy rainfall. Willa took Waverly’s hand and started to drag her away, Doc hot on their heels. 

“What is happening?” 

“The Garden knows you want out. The reckoning has begun.” 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wynonna stood staring at the white board as Nicole and Jeremy huddled around his computer. 

“Jeremy read it again.” She shouted over her shoulder as she tried desperately to make sense of the work on the board.

“If Paradise you seek to find, you must be pure of heart, soul and mind.” 

“Well that explains why the garden wanted Waverly but there’s no way I’m going to get in there if you have to be pure.” 

“There is more we need to translate but it's really hard to make out, the document isn’t exactly in the best condition.” 

Wynonna ran a hand through her hair in frustration.

“If we are going to get to Waverly, there has to be some kind of supernatural being in this goddamn town that we are missing who can help us! What about that witch lady, the one who tried to erase me from the universe, ya know my biggest fan?”

“Greta Pearly, as far as we know she left town god knows how long ago, her house was deserted and then Maeve burned it down.” Wynonna threw herself down in a near-by chair.

“Well there’s gotta be some kind of magical witch or warlock or goddamn elf that can give us answers.” The sound of the door opening got them all to their feet.

“I don’t know about an Elf but perhaps I could be of assistance?” Jeremy and Nicole looked at the newcomer in confusion. 

“I’m sorry but who are you?” The sheriff asked with as much authority in her voice that she could muster. Before they could answer Wynonna was all up in their face, anger coursing through her body.

“Where the hell have you been? You say you’re supposed to be keeping everything in balance in the world and then my sister gets dragged into some biblical bullshit nightmare by a goddamn magic tree and you go awol?” 

“You’re Kevin?” Kevin held out her arms.

“At your service.” Wynonna laughed and launched herself at Kevin only to find herself pushed against the wall with her arm pinned behind her back. “Didn’t you learn your lesson last time Wynonna? You should not bite the hand that feeds you.”

“Yeah well I had a big lunch.” Kevin released her arm and Wynonna rubbed at her wrist, wishing she had peacemaker at hand. 

“She’s gotta point though, We disappeared, Waverly and Doc have been missing for months and you show up now?” Nicole walked out from behind the desk. 

“Because Purgatory is not the only town fucking up the balance of the universe. I know its hard for you all to believe but the world does not revolve around Wynonna Earp, especially now you don’t have a curse to fight.”

Kevin pulled an apple out of her pocket and took a bite.

“So because you got what you wanted and Waverly’s probably taken Julian’s place you just don’t give a shit anymore? I knew she was just a job to you but that is really fucking shitty even for you” 

“I never said I WANTED to sacrifice your sister, I said it was what was needed.” 

“Well Waverly didn’t have a choice, there was some kind of goddamn force field that trapped her, it was like something from the hunger games or something.” All 3 women turned to stare at Jeremy. “What? Like in the arena in Catching Fire?”

“Jeremy once again like always, we do not have time for your fanboy freakouts.” He rolled his eyes and muttered whatever under his breath as he took a sip from his Optimug Prime. 

“Look we’ve been detecting a lot more anomalies in the balance of the universe than normal, a lot of shit’s been happening and all signs point to a disturbance in the garden that's causing it.” 

“Yeah the disturbance is that goddamn branch took my sister and Doc and they don’t belong in there.”

Kevin took another big bite of her apple and just stared at them. Nicole had no idea if they could trust the mysterious woman or not but she knew that they didn;t have any other kind of plan and could use all the help they could get in figuring this thing out. 

“Looks like this time we’re on the same side Earp. Clearly your sister being in the garden isn’t the right thing after all, so we’re all gonna work together on phase 2.” 

“What the hell is phase 2?” 

A big smile came on to Kevin’s face as she threw the apple in the trash.

“We’re gonna find a replacement for your sister.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All everyone wants is answers. 
> 
> Can Waverly and Doc trust Willa?
> 
> What exactly is Kevin's plan? 
> 
> read on and find out!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains information from research I did on the Garden of Eden and on religion in general.  
I am not a religious person so if I got anything mixed up or wrong then I'm sorry.
> 
> It is also not my intention to offend anyone with anything religious in this story, it is simply me trying to come up with a plausible plot for this fic based on this shit show!

"Willa, slow down!" Waverly tried to scream over the sounds of chaos but her voice was lost in the wind as her sister continued to run.

Their surroundings had changed again and this time Waverly could make out exactly where they were, or at least where the garden wanted her to think they were, the Purgatory woods. She could hear Doc's footsteps behind them but she couldn't bring herself to look back, terrified that the landscape would change again and she would fall. She was glad of this decision when Willa stopped abruptly and Waverly just about managed to put her hands on her back to stop them from slamming in to each other. 

"I know we are not exactly best friends but could you be so kind as to tell us where in gods name we are running to or running from or whatever it is we are doing?" Doc asked, breathing heavily, his hands on his knees. 

"We need to find the answer." Waverly and Doc exchanged confused glances as Willa turned to face them. "The answer to the voice's riddle? You didn't hear it?" 

"Hear what?" Willa took a deep breath as she ran a hand through her hair. 

"I can't tell you here, they're listening." Waverly took a step towards Willa, taking her face in her hands. 

"Willa, I'm here. I'm not going to let anyone do anything to you anymore. Who are they?" 

Thunder erupted around them though the sky remained clear and beautiful. Willa looked between Doc and her sister before letting out a deep sigh. 

“They’re called the Cherubim.”

==================================================================================================

“Okay who or what is a cherry bub?” 

Jeremy flicked through the text book he had gotten from the library at Kevin’s request. 

“Not cherry bub Wynonna, a Cherubim.” 

Wynonna stared at him like he had grown another head.

“Yeah not helping Jer Bear.” 

Kevin stood in the corner, pickle in hand. They’d been discussing the possibilities of how to find a replacement for Waverly for almost two hours and they were not getting very far. She was not a very patient person and it was starting to ware thin. 

“The Cherubim were the original guardians of the Garden. While Juan Carlos and Julian were tasked with guarding the actual garden of paradise, the Cherubim were tasked with guarding the gates of paradise to keep out Satan. When Adam and Eve were outcast after Bulshar tricked them, they kept them out too.” 

“But if they have the Cherubim then why would the Garden need another angel to protect it?” 

Nicole threw her arms up in frustration. This Kevin person was supposed to be helping them and right now all she seemed to be doing was making Jeremy give them a lesson about religion. She walked over to her and slapped the pickle out of her hand.

“How can you stand there eating? You’re supposed to be helping us. What is the point in you being here if you’re just gonna eat pickles and say nothing.” 

“Calm it down Red.” Nicole scowled at her, who did this woman think she was. “We’re not supposed to get too involved. I’m risking a lot by being here you know but we have got to rebalance the universe.”

Wynonna picked up a bottle of whiskey off of the kitchen table and took a swig before collapsing in to a chair, head in her hand. 

“As much as I hate to say it, she’s right Nicole.” Nicole whipped around to face her friend, she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Haught it’s been months and we’re getting our asses kicked. We are no closer to bringing Waves and Doc back than we were when we started. One more player on our team, especially one that actually knows about the garden, it definitely can’t hurt.”

Wynonna silently pleaded with her friend to listen to her.

“Come on Haught-dog, why do I always have to be the responsible one?” This at least got her a small smile. “Seriously dude, we have to do this. For Waverly.” 

Nicole closed her eyes and released a breath she didn’t even realise she was holding. Opening her eyes, they locked with the older Earp.

“Okay. For Waverly.”

Kevin took a seat at the table before nodding at Jeremy.

“Wanna keep going there Doctor Dork?” 

“Oh I’m not a doctor.” He looked up to see all three women glaring at him. “Right not the point there Jeremy. So the book says that the reason the garden has to have an angel within the garden is that that the Cherubim are not supposed to be there 24/7. The Cherubim are supposed to dwell in heaven and only go to the garden if there is any kind of disturbance but after both Juan Carlo and Julian came to earth and never returned the garden was left unprotected.” 

“According to the ancient texts even with the entire combined force of the Cherubs, they’re not powerful enough to continuously keep the garden safe which is why they took your sister.” 

Kevin snatched the book from Jeremy and started flicking through it. The room was filled with an intense silence as the group waited for her to continue. Wynonna, Nicole and Jeremy were all in the same boat, all desperate to get back the people that were most important to them. 

Nicole felt exhausted in every sense of the word. Physically, emotionally and mentally, she had been burning the candle at both ends for months. She had thought with everything she had to protect her friends and her town when they were taken wherever it was they were taken but even then she had one thing keeping her going, the one thing that ALWAYS kept her going, Waverly Earp. 

When she had first made the decision to move herself to the woods, spend every single spare moment she had searching for the woman she loved, it had seemed like such a great plan but now she was realising just how foolish she had been. Her own stubbornness had blinded her and angered her to the point where she had wasted so much time that she could have used to work with her team to find the love of her life. She fiddled with the ring on her finger, a constant reminder on what she had lost. 

“So what do we need to do, whatever it is let’s do it.” Kevin smiled at the sheriff, her change in attitude was very much a welcome change from all the hostility she had received from them so far. 

“The only way to replace an angel is with someone that has the heart of an angel. Now Miss Earp obviously fit that profile but for whatever reason her presence in the garden is not right which means that her heart may be angelic but her soul is well and truly human. So we get the soul of an angel and Boom we get up those stairs.” 

Wynonna sighed dramatically and hit her hand against her head.

“Of course the soul of an angel why didn't we think of that? Let's just roll on down to the Angel soul store and pick up a new one. piece of cake thanks a lot Kevin, really helpful.” 

“You can mock me all you want Earp but you know deep down, I am the only one that can help you save Waverly. So why don't you sit down, shut up and let me do my thing!” 

Jeremy raised his hand earning him an eye roll from both Wynonna and Nicole. 

“This isn’t Math class nerd you don't need to raise your hand just talk.” 

Jeremy quickly put it down, wringing his hands together nervously.

“It's just that we keep talking about how we're gonna save Waverly and obviously that's what I want but what about Doc? Is the soul of an Angel going to get a vampire out too? I mean how does a vampire even get into the garden of Eden? Shouldn’t the Cherubim have killed him like they did Bulshar’s beekeepers? I mean I can't even feel him in my gro--"

"Chetri if you say groin I'm gonna kick you so hard in it." Jeremy's eyes opened in terror as he edged his chair away from Wynonna. 

“Your friend John Henry might be a vampire but by helping save Wynonna's life he proved that his soul just like Waverly’s is still human. the garden of Eden doesn't need a vampire to survive so we should be able to get him out easily. The problem isn't getting him out, it's getting in there to attempt it in the first place.”

it all seemed so complicated but without saying anything they all knew one thing for certain, They would do whatever it took they would not rest until they bought their loved ones home. 

“What do we need to do First?”

“First thing we've gotta do? We need to find Valdez.”


End file.
